Oct. 9, 2013

Christine Beatty

Written by

Detroit Free Press Staff Writer

Christine Beatty has been many things to former Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick: Mistress. Chief of Staff. Friend.

Add coconspirator to the list.

That’s how the federal government identified Beatty in a court document today, saying the onetime member of Kilpatrick’s inner circle was one of several coconspirators in the ex-mayor’s criminal scheme. The description surfaced in a court document in which the government argued that Kilpatrick — despite his objection — deserves a minimum 28-year prison sentence for his corruption crimes. To bolster that argument, federal prosecutors wrote that as leader of his scheme, Kilpatrick supervised and directed several coconspirators, including Beatty; his father, Bernard Kilpatrick; his contractor friend Bobby Ferguson; his right-hand man Derrick Miller, and several others.

All of the named coconspirators were charged with crimes — except for Beatty.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office declined to comment on why Beatty was never charged, saying only that Beatty’s involvement in Kilpatrick’s schemes has been noted before.

“Christine Beatty’s name came up at least twice during the trial, so our view of her has not changed, regardless of how she has been labeled,” Gina Balaya, spokeswoman for the U.S. Attorney’s Office, said in a statement. “Today’s reference in a sentencing memo relates to Kwame Kilpatrick’s role as a leader of organized criminal activity. Beatty’s involvement is relevant for purposes of calculating his sentence.”

Kilpatrick will be sentenced Thursday in U.S. District Court on his 24 corruption convictions involving bribery, extortion and fraud.

Coincidentally, on the same day of his sentencing, an article about Beatty’s notorious affair with Kilpatrick will hit the newstands in the November issue of Essence Magazine.

The woman at the heart of the text-messaging scandal that felled Kilpatrick says in the magazine that she has begun a “journey of self-forgiveness” and has learned that redemption is a process.

“I’ve learned many things because of this ordeal: I know now that no matter how unhappy you are, you can’t look for your happiness in someone else; you won’t find it there,” she writes. “I’ve also come to understand that while you can’t help how you feel, you are in control of your actions.”

In 2008, Beatty pleaded guilty to two felony obstruction of justice charges after the Free Press published text messages that showed she lied under oath about her affair with Kilpatrick during a police whistle-blower trial. In that same trial, Kilpatrick also denied the affair with Beatty and misled jurors about the firing of a police officer, testimony that was contradicted by text messages and triggered his downfall.

Beatty was sentenced to 120 days in jail and released after serving about 70 days. She moved in February 2010 to Atlanta.